The Blish Family Genealogy
Adding Data
We know it's a pain, but please read this
entire page before you submit anything:
Thank you for taking the time to help us extend our
knowledge of how the family is related.
To submit your information to the Webmaster for inclusion in the
genealogy, you'll use one or both of two forms. In general, you
simply fill out as much of the form(s) as you can, then
submit it or them. Person forms are one per each person to be added to the
genealogy. Union forms are one per marriage or unofficial union
per per pair of partners. I realize this is a lot of information
to ask for, but the more we have, the more valuable the genealogy
is to us all.
If any part of the form does not apply (for instance, you are
submitting yourself, and obviously, you're not dead yet...)
then simply don't fill it out. The database reads back "No Entry"
for fields that are not filled in, which is appropriate.
Likewise, if you don't have any part of the information
requested, for instance a birthdate, just leave the field blank
unless the field is required (very few are!)
If you're submitting multiple records, as many do, be sure to
fill in sensible index numbers. What we mean by this is lets
say you're submitting a person and their parents. Number
them 1(mom), 2(dad) and 3(child). Then in the parent slots,
indicate 1 and 2 in the mom and dad index spaces, respectively.
If you do this consistently, we'll be able to match the records
you send in easily. Likewise, if you can relate someone to
an entry you find in the online database, use the index number
from the database, not any other code! That will let
us insert the record in the database linked properly to the
rest of the entries.
If you would care to include attribution data (in other words,
where you learned about the information you are supplying),
then use the comments field at the end of the form. It can
take very large text blocks, so have at it. If you don't
include attribution data, we'll attribute the data to you
directly, which of course is fine if you are the actual source.
But if your dad told you, then your dad is the source,
if you found it in a record in a town hall, then the record
is the actual source, and so on.
Now, about "required" fields. The form is sent to
us directly once you press "submit". It is not
checked for accuracy, because the data is too free-form... it's
almost impossible to check with a program. We have to do it
by hand. If you don't fill in a required field, we'll just
send it back for you to fix, unless you don't provide an email,
in which case we'll have to trash it, which we certainly do
not want to do! Also, it's not nearly as easy to edit
in text form, inside an email, as it is when it's here on the page, nicely broken
out into the various components. So please, check the entries
carefully before you fire the form off to us. And thank you!
There are two types of records you can submit; persons and
unions. Persons are just what you think they are. People.
Unions allow us to add marriage relationships to the database;
they link two people together in an official or unofficial
union. A typical generation entry session might include two
people, one union, and then any number of children. It doesn't
matter which you do first because we take the output from the
forms and hand-enter it into the database software proper,
which then generates the HTML pages you see on the site here,
among other things.
Whew! Well, with all that firmly in mind, you're ready to
go. Just pick the appropriate link below and let fly.
And thanks!
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